1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to an appliance with a ventilation system having an adjustable fan or blower assembly that can selectively direct the ventilated air in a number of predetermined directions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many different types of cooking appliances produce smoke, steam, or other gaseous contamination during use. Often, it is considered beneficial to utilize some type of ventilation system to evacuate these airborne contaminants either upwardly through a venting hood or downwardly into a draft flue. In kitchens, most known venting arrangements take the form of a hood that is fixed above a cooking surface and that can be selectively activated to evacuate the contaminated air. Downdraft venting arrangements are also widely known in the art wherein a cooking surface will incorporate a vent opening that is positioned between different sections of the cooking surface or extended along a back of the cooking surface. These downdraft vents can either be fixed relative to the cooking surface or can be moved between a stowed, inoperative position and a raised, operative position.
Downdraft blowers are generally multiple speed fans having a low speed and a high speed. Blowers are commonly controlled by a mechanical multi-position switch, potentiometer, or rheostat-type control, which sets the speed of the fan. For removal of normal cooking odors, steam, and other effluents and contaminants, low speed operation suffices. However, when using a cooking system such as a grill or the like, the fan may be required to operate at a higher speed to best withdraw the contaminants from the surrounding air. In these systems, vapors and odors are drawn into an exhaust inlet and are exhausted into the atmosphere, generally, to an exterior location. Usually the exhaust inlet or vent is located immediately adjacent to the cooking surface. The inlet flow path includes a plenum, a blower, an atmospheric exhaust, and interconnecting ductwork. The flow path to the atmosphere normally extends through a wall or floor of the room in which the cooking surface is located but may also be exhausted into a room if the exhaust air is properly filtered.
The plenum may generally be in the form of a rectangular box or the like that extends downwardly from the vent provided in or around the cook top. The blower assembly is typically coupled to the plenum so as to direct airflow at a predetermined angle with an infinitely adjustable joint away from the side of the plenum and through the remainder of the ventilation system for expulsion. In particular, the blower is configured to draw the contaminated air down into the plenum through the vent and then out of the plenum as discussed. Typically, the air is directed out of the plenum at approximately 90 degrees. However, traditional configurations suffer from a number of disadvantages in that such an arrangement may not be necessarily suitable for a given installation site. That is, an installer may want to direct the airflow in any number of alternative directions or may desire to position the blower, and more particularly the blower housing, so as to provide the ventilation system with ample clearance room for a given installation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a solution to one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.